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Chapter 5: After Office

Harry was sipping his firewhiskey slowly, he didn't want it to cloud his senses. He was never much of a drinker, and right now he was on a mission. His best friend was sitting next to him, playing with the straw in her drink being all smile and giggles. To her left there was the man he loathed for years at Hogwarts, laughing along.

Granted, Draco Malfoy had changed. He had turned his life around. He had given back to the world. He had stayed out of trouble and slowly built a career in the Ministry. He was brilliant and put it to good use. He had cleaned up his act. Harry almost respected him.

Until that car ride.

He had had lunch for 5 days on a row with him and/or Hermione to see if he could pick on anything going on between them. He hated that feeling in the pit of his stomach. He didn't think Hermione would cheat but hey, we're talking about Malfoy here, he could turn anything around if it served his purposes.

Okay, the old Malfoy. Not this Malfoy.

He seemed to have genuinely changed, and Harry feared… he seemed to genuinely have feelings for Hermione. He wouldn't dare trying Occlumency, but it was tempting. "Earth to Potter" Harry chuckled at Draco's comment "Mate, this firewhiskey is… wow" Draco nodded. "I have to say, your Reveal potion was bloody brilliant" Hermione half smiled "I loved that bitch's face when she realized she had turned two seconds after denying she could transfigurate, just because you threw that potion on her" and took a long sip of her drink. Draco and Harry looked at her "What? A girl can't curse at a bloody bitch who's tortured and killed children because they were pure bloods?!"

The men chuckled at her clearly tipsy voice "What?!" Harry brushed her arm "I think you should slow down on your drinks Mione" but she ignored him "So Malfoy, any news from the little man?" While she waited for a response she waved at the waitress and asked for some chips. "3 owls in 5 days but he seems to be feeling better now. Got 5 points to Slytherin during Transfiguration" Harry chuckled "That's because your friend Pansy is teaching that class!"

"It is not! Scorpius is doing very well! I got the week report before coming here!" Hermione cleared her throat "Boys! Please, we all know Rosie is kicking both of your kids' asses" Harry added "I heard Goyle Jr is giving her a run for her money though" she rolled her eyes "Yeah well, at least they're getting along"

"I'm really glad Gregory is making friends. He's… been through a lot" Hermione frowned "Care to elaborate?" Draco clenched his teeth slightly "Gregory and Milicent are going through a rough patch and well, if you think Weasel took the sorting news badly… you have no idea what bad stands for"

Hermione nodded. Harry hated the fact that she had told Malfoy about Ron's reaction to Rosie's sorting, but well, they seemed to be friends. He sighed. He was having conflicting feelings of his own about this new Malfoy. They had worked together for years, both of their departments needing one another to successfully get people convicted. He just never thought he had changed so much. This man in front of him, laughing with his best friend and talking about how scared he was for his son… he could be friends with this man.

And that killed him. He felt like he was betraying Ronald for some reason. They're not having an affair. They're not. She wouldn't. They're not.

"So, any Halloween or Christmas plans yet?" Hermione wasn't that good at small talk or changing the topic "It's like 3 months away Mione, c'mon" she rolled her eyes yet again, annoyed by her oldest friend "So what? We have like 40 Weasleys to coordinate with!"

"Add the Dursleys to that list" Harry said taking a sip of firewhiskey. "Man, that's strong" but Draco disregarded it and poured him another "Your cousin is coming?" Harry nodded "Yes, he wants to cook for all of us. Elena's pregnant again and Magda is almost 8, so I figured why not right?"

Hermione didn't want to leave Draco out of the talk, but she was too curious as to what would happen "Uhm, and is your aunt coming too?" Harry nodded "Let bygones be bygones you know. It's been forever, it's not even the first time we met. I was Dud's best man after all"

"Yeah, I still wondered how that happened" Hermione started munching the chips, having a small chip-sword fight with Draco, but still paying attention to her friend "He changed his life around. He's a world renowned chef, he loves Elena and their little girl" he paused "They're my family after all. The only family I've ever known, so" he took another sip of firewhiskey "I think his father passing away turned out to be a blessing in disguise, for both Petunia and him. And God, that sounded awful" Hermione brushed his arm slowly "It doesn't make it less truthful Harry. That man was horrible"

Draco was suddenly looking at the bottom of his glass "Sometimes I wonder how I would've turned out if my father had died when I was young. Or if my mother had developed balls and divorced him before being dragged to all that madness" Hermione and Harry's eyes were fixed on him, "But hey, we were celebrating how brilliantly our departments work together, putting bitches away for good. That was it, right Granger?" Draco smirked raising his glass and Harry followed along, but Hermione saw right through him.

"She's an insult to the muggle community. Too bad we can't strip her from her powers. Or"- Hermione was grabbing her glass firmly "Hey, Mione, relax, she's locked up now. She won't hurt anyone anymore"

Draco added, "You've made a great case against her, there's no way they wouldn't convict her" Hermione was still serious "I just… It seems too little punishment. She tortured all those poor kids, she even killed one. I just kept thinking that if she chose a different school it could've been Lys or Lorcan or Scorpius. It just seems too little for those parent and those kids"

Draco grabbed her hand "She's locked up. And those kids will be fine" She shook her head "They'll hate muggleborns because of what she did to them, because of all the things she probably told them, it's not fair. She took away their innocence"

"And you locked her up for it. Of course, you couldn't have done it without Potter and me" he chuckled trying to lighten up the mood and winked at Potter "Absolutely Mione, your department would be utterly screwed if it weren't for ours" She smiled at them and let go of Draco's hand with a little squeeze, reaching for more chips. Harry picked on that and that pain in the pit of his stomach started again. And no, it wasn't the firewhiskey.

"So, you guys are coming to my Halloween party? It's a fundraiser" Harry chuckled, "Sure mate, I really… I like what you've done with that foundation" Draco took a sip trying to hide an honest smile. "Thanks Potter"

Blaise showed up patting Malfoy on the back "Did anyone say party?" Draco rose from his chair and hugged the man, who then moved to say hello to the other two. "Hey Potter, is your godson around now?"

Harry frowned "He's at his grams I think, why?" Blaise got a stoll and sat between Hermione and Harry, forcing her to sit closer to Draco. No, she wasn't thinking of his cologne. Or how her leg accidentally brushed his or how they kept fighting like little children about the chips. No, she wasn't thinking about how he bit her lip and how she'd like to do that again. Shit, it's wrong, it's fucking wrong. You're married, stop this right fucking now.

Blaise's voice made her snap out of it "He has an interview with me Monday morning; I sent him an owl but never got the reply" Harry pondered for a second "Mmm, he'll be home tonight for sure, I'll knock some sense into him. He's been wanting to be an architect most of his life"

"Which is killing you inside, isn't it? You'd love to have him on your team" Harry shrugged his shoulders "I want him to be happy doing what he loves. And having a break at your firm after that great update in Azkaban, well what more could we ask for?" He raised his glass and toasted with Blaise.

"Well, I gotta tell you, the kid's brilliant. I've seen his portfolio and wow… he's gonna give a run for my money someday"

Hermione needed to go home but was in no condition to drive or apparate so Blaise offered to take her home, to which she agreed. She kissed both Draco and Harry on the cheek and took off, trying to keep a steady pace.

Harry watched how Draco gazed at Hermione walking away "So Malfoy, since when you've been having an affair with Mione?" Draco spit half of his drink "WHAT are you talking about?" Harry rolled his eyes "Please, spare me the denial. I've seen the way you look at her"

"You think we're having an affair?" Draco chuckled, upset "Just because I'm the lowest thing in the food chain doesn't mean she is. She's wonderful and she'd never cheat on your friend, least of all with me. I'm Malfoy remember?"

Harry took a sip, not dropping his intense glare at the man in front of him. "In spite of my better judgment, I like you Malfoy. But she's married to one of my best friends"

"Then you should tell your best friend to respect her and to love her for the wonderful woman she is instead of wanting to change her" he dropped his glass rather forcefully "And here I was thinking that we had made some sort of breakthrough you and I, hanging out and laughing together"

He got up but Harry stopped him grabbing him from the arm "Hey, I needed to ask" Draco came near him "I don't care what you think of me, I mean, it'd be nice if you got off of your high horse and realize we're not at Hogwarts anymore and that I'm not the enemy. But what pisses me off the most is that you call yourself her best friend. And you're entirely clueless as to who she truly is if you think that she'd have an affair. She's been through hell. Your friend is an asshole that's been giving her a hard time for months now. But I guess you've been too busy focusing on yourself to notice" He took a deep breath "Now if you excuse me, I have things to do"

Harry let go of his arm and watched him walk away taking another sip of firewhiskey. Yes, Draco Malfoy was definitely in love with Hermione.

And yes, he was right about Harry being blind as to what was going on in her life. Hermione needed him and he was oblivious. He only hoped it wasn't too late.


When Hermione reached her home, she found a banner and little snowflakes falling from the sky with Hugo and Ron cheering, and her parents throwing confetti "Congratulations love, you were brilliant today" she smiled trying to hold her happy tears inside.

She held Hugo tight and Ron kissed her on the forehead. Her mom had helped Ron cooking her favorite dinner and they wanted to hear all about her big case and how it was resolved. Ron didn't even flinched when she mentioned Malfoy's potion or how great the new cells were thanks to Blaise's work.

It was a good evening and after getting a cab for her parents and putting Hugo to bed she went to their room. "Ron?" he turned around smiling at his wife while changing to bed "Yes love?"

She took the little card Draco had given her a few days ago and handed it over to him "You think… you think we call this man and see him?" he grabbed the card and read it. Marriage counselor. It was pointless to deny it, they needed this. She was reaching out and ignoring the fact that they had issues would only cause them to split for good.

He sighed "We'll call him in the morning" she came near him and hugged him tight. "I'm sorry" And she was, for so many things. He took a step back, their foreheads touching "I'm sorry too Mione. I want us to work things out, I really do"

She gave him a little peck on the lips and he cupped her head with his hand, bringing her closer to him. He was soft and kind and knew exactly where to brush her neck sending shivers through her body. She had to make this work, the feelings were there. You still love him. He still loves you. That's what matters.

As he started unbuttoning her shirt and kissing his way down, she felt a different kind of shiver. Something wasn't right. It felt okay, but something wasn't right. He was too rushed, she suddenly felt as if she was watching the scene from up above. A little tear escaped her eye as she remembered Luna's words: Maybe you don't like each other anymore.